Eli Lilly expands gene therapy portfolio through USD 1.1 B deal with Seamless Therapeutics

USA—Eli Lilly has signed a global research collaboration and licensing agreement with Germany-based biotech Seamless Therapeutics, marking another major expansion of its gene therapy portfolio.

This partnership focuses on developing and commercializing programmable recombinase-based treatments for hearing loss.

In return for access to Seamless’s proprietary recombinase platform, Lilly will pay the biotech company over USD 1.12 billion, including an upfront payment and dedicated R&D funding.

Although the companies did not reveal specific details about milestone payments or royalties, the deal highlights Lilly’s commitment to next-generation genetic medicine.

Harnessing recombinase technology for therapeutic use

Founded in 2023, Seamless Therapeutics specializes in programmable recombinases—specialized enzymes that enable site-specific DNA rearrangements such as excision, insertion, and translocation.

While recombinases have been a cornerstone of molecular biology research for decades, their therapeutic application is only now being realized.

The company’s technology enables large yet highly accurate DNA edits across the genome, offering the potential to treat a wide variety of genetic disorders.

Under the new partnership, Seamless will design and program recombinases that precisely target and correct genetic mutations associated with hearing loss.

Eli Lilly will obtain exclusive global rights to advance these programmed recombinases through preclinical studies, clinical development, and eventual commercialization.

Albert Seymour, CEO of Seamless Therapeutics, said the company looks forward to working closely with Lilly to develop transformative treatments for patients living with genetic hearing loss.

“This collaboration presents an exciting opportunity to apply our technology to bring life-changing therapies to patients and expand the therapeutic reach of programmable recombinases through our proprietary pipeline,” Seymour noted.

Strengthening Lilly’s gene therapy pipeline

The deal with Seamless adds to Lilly’s growing series of strategic acquisitions and collaborations in the gene therapy space.

In May 2025, the U.S. drugmaker spent USD 1.3 billion acquiring Rznomics, a South Korea-based biotech developing RNA-based therapies for hearing loss.

Only a month later, Lilly purchased gene-editing partner Verve Therapeutics for a similar amount of USD 1.3 billion.

Further strengthening its position in ophthalmic gene therapy, Lilly acquired Adverum in October 2025 and followed that with a USD 475 million licensing deal with UK-based MeiraGTx in November.

The company also has an active gene therapy candidate for hearing loss, AK-OTOF, which showed promising results in a Phase I/II trial (NCT05572073) in 2024 by restoring hearing in a child born with hearing loss.

Industry activity and market

According to analysis by GlobalData, venture capital activity in the cell and gene therapy (CGT) sector remains most active at the Series B stage.

Irena Maragkou, senior healthcare researcher at GlobalData, noted that recent acquisitions by big pharmaceutical companies have become increasingly platform-driven, focusing on scalable manufacturing capabilities that can accelerate CGT portfolio expansion.

However, she added that larger firms remain open to paying a premium for late-stage or clinically validated assets that align with long-term strategic goals.

Continued investment momentum in 2026

Beyond gene therapy, Eli Lilly has remained one of the most active large pharmaceutical companies in mergers and acquisitions entering 2026.

In January, Lilly completed a USD 1.2 billion acquisition of inflammatory disease specialist Ventyx, followed by a USD 1.3 billion research partnership with Nimbus Therapeutics to advance obesity-focused drug discovery.